IT is too early to know whether homes along the Frankston line will be bought by the state government if elevated rail ultimately is built along sections of the rail line.
The Labor state government offered to buy about 130 homes backing onto elevated rail, dubbed sky rail, along three sections of the Cranbourne-Pakenham line where rail over road structures will be built.
The Level Crossing Removal Authority, a Department of Transport division tasked with overseeing the separation of rail and road at 11 level crossings along the Frankston line, says early site investigations are underway at eight locations between Cheltenham and Frankston and it is too soon to say that Frankston line residents will be offered the same buyout at taxpayers’ expense.
LXRA project director Adam Maguire said technical investigations, including environment assessments, will be done in the first half of the year before the authority announces options for level crossings removals along the Frankston line in mid-year.
“These technical investigations are part of the development of feasible options for each of the eight sites, and will be presented to the community for their feedback later this year,” Mr Maguire said.
“Following this, further work will be undertaken to inform the development of the recommended option by the end of 2016, when the investigations currently underway will also assist in determining the relevant planning and approvals required under various local, state and federal legislation.”
The environmental assessments will include an Environment Effects Statement for each option for removing level crossings as part of a public process, according to the LXRA.
Liberal opposition spokesman for planning David Davis said the government’s offer to buy homes from residents who will live near elevated rail on the Cranbourne-Pakenham line is a “panicked political fix”.
“If Sky Rail is going to create the utopian neighbourhoods that Premier Daniel Andrews and Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said it would then why do they need to buy out local residents?” he asked. “The fact is, the Andrews Labor government has been lying all along about the impact of sky rail and has admitted it with this panicked and rushed announcement without any details.
“Surely this compensation would be better spent instead in doing what residents actually want; for this ugly and intrusive sky rail proposal to be abandoned and instead remove level crossings by putting rail under road.”
Mr Maguire said any buyout scheme along the Frankston line is not even under consideration at the moment. A final decision on how best to remove level crossings at eight locations along the Frankston line will be announced at the end of this year.
“The government’s voluntary purchase scheme relates to the Caulfield to Dandenong level crossings, and arrangements for other projects will be determined on a project-by-project basis.”
Three road under rail level crossing removals are underway at Bentleigh, McKinnon and Ormond.
